Years before the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked at the Los Angeles Daily News. The paper underwent tremendous upheaval when it was sold and merged into a larger newspaper chain. Employees fretted over job security; some didn’t wait for the axe to fall, and when they left, their positions were simply absorbed.
I was equally nervous, but an editor gave me advice I never forgot: There is opportunity amid crisis. “Look for your openings, and then go for it,” he told me.
He was right. I relearned that lesson when the pandemic struck. While many industries faced severe headwinds, the demand for professional ghostwriting services experienced an unexpected surge.
Here are three hidden ways the pandemic reshaped the ghostwriting landscape, and how writers can capitalize on these shifts today.
1. A Surge in Family Legacy and Life-Story Projects
The pandemic forced families to separate to protect their health. Grown children were suddenly unable to visit elderly parents, creating a sharp awareness of life’s fragility and the urgency of capturing family histories before it was too late.
Writing for The Guardian, journalist Amelia Hill highlighted how this uncertainty drove families to hire writers for memoirs, biographies, and family histories.
Hill quoted writer Caro Handley on this shift in client mindset:
“Grownup children are realizing now that if there ever was a time to record their parents’ stories, to protect them from being forgotten, the time is now.”
This emotional driver created a boom in private-client work that remains strong today. People realized that personal stories are irreplaceable assets.
2. The Corporate Content Gap and the Freelance Boom
As traditional companies downsized full-time marketing and editorial staff, the demand for high-level content didn’t disappear, it pivoted to contract professionals.
Freelance industry analyst Kaleigh Moore highlighted data showing that 36% of the U.S. workforce performed freelance work during 2020, contributing $1.2 trillion to the economy—a 22% increase from 2019. Crucially, 60% of those freelancers stated they would never return to a traditional full-time job.
Businesses still needed white papers, executive thought leadership, articles, and books written. Independent writers stepped in to fill the void left by internal restructuring, establishing ongoing retainer relationships with brands and executives.
3. Forced Career Pivots and the Expansion of Remote Client Networks
Before the pandemic, my copywriting work was hitting a wall of diminishing returns. Local networking events were yielding fewer prospects, and my client pipeline in Los Angeles was shrinking.
When in-person events shut down, I was forced to look outside my geographical region. I joined virtual professional organizations based in Philadelphia, Toronto, and Ireland.
Through a business advisor in one of these remote networks, I re-evaluated my skills and realized where my true passion lay: long-form book projects and executive writing. Transitioning to this niche allowed me to serve clients globally without ever leaving my home office.
Marketing strategist Grace Clarke captured this sentiment when discussing her own pandemic-era pivot:
“Without realizing it, I’d been putting in a ton of work to get into a position that allowed me to deliver when my industry shifted.”
Key Takeaways for Clients and Prospects
While the pandemic brought irregular workflows and payment delays for some, it permanently expanded the boundaries of the remote writing market. Clients and prospects should consider the following when looking for a ghostwriter.
- Look Beyond Geography: Virtual networking removes local market caps. Seek out ghostwriter groups in higher-density or higher-budget regions.
- Position Services Around Urgency: Focus on ghostwriters who do long-form legacy work or strategic B2B content where missing a deadline carries a high cost to you.
- Embrace the Pivot: When a traditional service line slows down, audit a ghostwriter’s past skills (like journalism or corporate interviewing) and see how they rebrand them into high-value offerings.
Crisis disrupts old ghostwriter channels, but it inevitably creates new ones. Look for the open doors, and go for them.
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